How Gemma Ward Got Too 'Fat' to Model

Gemma Ward was discovered at 14, became Vogue’s youngest cover model at 16, and landed more than 20 Vogue covers by 19—but today, at just 22 and a few pounds heavier than she once was, Ward’s modeling career appears to be over. Speculation about her size began in 2006, and by 2007—when she wore what one article called a “not so itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny Chanel bikini” during a Paris fashion week show—one fashion editor “almost didn’t recognize her,” the journalist tells the New York Post.

The former waif had probably gained only 10 to 15 pounds, but that was enough to make her look “big, almost bloated,” the editor continues. Her agency put her on “hiatus” in 2007, and she hasn’t worked for 2 years. “Her moment's over,” says a source. “She's not coming back.” She won't be back as a plus-size model, either—she's too small.
(More Gemma Ward stories.)